Liu Zongyuan (773 – 28 November 819) was a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician who lived during the Tang dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi. Along with Han Yu, he was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement. He has been traditionally classed as one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song".

Biography

Liu Zongyuan was born in 773. His courtesy name was Zihou (子厚). Liu Zongyuan's civil service career was initially successful; however, in 805, he fell out of favour with the imperial government because of his association with a failed reformist movement. He was exiled first to Yongzhou, Hunan, and then to Liuzhou, Guangxi, where he eventually became the city Governor. A park and temple in Liuzhou is dedicated to his memory. His exile allowed his literary career to flourish: he produced poems, fables, reflective travelogues and essays synthesizing elements of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. He died in 819.

Works

Liu's best-known travel pieces are the Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou (永州八記). Around 180 of his poems are extant, of which five were collected in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems. Some of his works celebrate his freedom from office, while others mourn his banishment. One of his most famous poems is "Jiangxue" (江雪), translated into English as "River Snow" or "Winter Snow". The poem has been an inspiration for many works of Chinese painting. ! style="width:10em;"| ! style="width:45em;"| A thousand mountains, but no sign of birds in flight; Ten thousand paths, but no trace of human tracks. In a lone boat, an old man, in a rain hat and a straw raincoat, Fishing alone, in the cold river snow. Liu Zongyuan wrote Fei Guoyu (, Argument against the Harangues of the Various States), a criticism of Guoyu. In response, Liu Zhang (劉 章, c. 1095–1177); Jiang Duanli ; and Yu Pan ( 1300), Yu Ji's (虞 集, 1272–1348) younger brother, wrote texts titled Fei Fei Guoyu (Argument against the Argument against the Harangues of the Various States) in opposition to Liu Zongyuan's essay.